There seems to be a trend in hospitals to have one person fill two roles, either a PUC or a PCA/HUC.
This is when you have a person who is a certified Patient Care Attendant who also works as a Health Unit Coordinator. They can answer the telephone and input orders into the computer. They can also place patients on the bedside commode and check their blood pressure.
Over the years, hospitals have attempted to fill the void left by insufficient HUCs by cross-training the PCAs to answer the telephones and assemble patient charts.
A simple Google search brings up multiple part-time PCA/HUC job openings. There is a job posting for a per diem PCA/HUC at the hospital I work for now. Usually, these positions are for smaller units like an ICU or areas where procedures are performed. This means there is a need for both a HUC and a PCA, but not both all the time.
But with this upward trend of PUCs, will those who have only been HUCs be replaced? Or will they soon be required to become certified PCAs to keep their jobs?
So far, the answer is no. Hospitals will push those of us who are Health Unit Coordinators only to the bigger floors and have the PUCs do the ICUs and other smaller units.
So tell me, what is going to happen?
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